The Isle of Jekyll - where a handful of the richest men in existence secretly plotted the creation of the Federal Reserve

April 24, 2008 | By Kevin

What’s the Federal Reserve? Most folks will tell you it’s a large, complex, central banking system headed by a small group of elite economists and bankers that control every aspect of the United States money system.

But most folks probably don’t know how it got started.

I found out when I made a recent business trip to Jekyll Island - a small island off the coast of Georgia. It’s a remarkable place with lots of natural beauty, a great golf course and huge Golden-Age era mansions. They filmed “The Legend of Bagger Vance” there to give you an idea.

I played a few games of tennis on the best clay courts I’ve ever laid eyes on.

During the conference, my coworkers and I were treated to elegant multi-course meals, complimentary cigars and more single-cask bourbon than I would care to remember.

We stayed at the Jekyll Island Clubhouse, the original building where 7 men (one Senator and the 6 richest men on the planet) met - in secret, with fake names, no less - to lay out plans for the Federal Reserve.

Rational thinkers can disagree on the legitimacy of the Federal Reserve as it stands - whether it is “good” to have such an economic construct to regulate money supply by setting interest rates and governing financial policy.

Then there’s also the rational question of whether such a construct should be left to the whims of a strict democracy, or if its officers should be elected by a republican house and senate - or whether these officers should be appointed by the executive branch and then confirmed by the senate, or whether their names should be drawn from a national lottery.

In any event - the Federal Reserve Bank exists, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, no matter how bad of a job it does. It’s THE bank in charge of economic policy. We don’t have any other banks waiting to take over.

The real problem, is that the matter of creation of this bank was completely illegitimate.

That’s a couched statement for most people, but one that even Frank Vanderlip - one of the framers of the Federal Reserve - agrees with.

He wrote an article 22 years after the fact, saying:

“If it were to be exposed publicly that our particular group had gotten together and written a banking bill, that bill would have no chance whatever of passage by Congress.”

At the meeting, it’s said that 1/4 of the world’s wealth was concentrated in one tiny room.

I ate breakfast in that room several times, and it’s quite unremarkable - very reminiscent of any breakfast nook at any decent hotel in the world.

It’s amazing to think that the very central bank responsible for printing our money was started in secret, by the Federal Government by the world’s richest men, who would then be in charge of that central bank.

I’m not even going to try to come to any specific conclusions, because it’s such a mind blowing event that 99% of people probably don’t even know about.

However, it seems to me that this Government supported monopoly should be on the top of the list for any progressive movement that seeks “change” in government.

4 Comments »

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  1. There’s a lot more to this story. Consider all the worthless money they print. It reduces the value of all our money — inflation. This valueless money is loaned out to people and countries who then become indebted and can lose everything. The interest on this fake money flows by the billions into the accounts of the cartel of bankers who control the purse strings–the federal reserve bank. They will soon own this country, will have to send in UN peacekeepers and will probably loan us some money to save our economy, just like all the other third world countries. Notice even as the third world is unable to service its debt, the US comes to the rescue and pays the bills with our tax money sent straight to the cartel. Clever fellows. They make billions with no investment nor risk of any kind.

    Comment by greg — April 24, 2008 #

  2. I agree- the more you read about this topic, the further it goes, so I just wanted to shed a little bit of light on the circumstances under which this particular reserve bank was created.

    Unfortunately, there is just as much myth and conspiracy out there, as there is real fact and information. I’m nothing approaching an economist, so I’ll leave that commentary to the experts.

    Comment by Kevin — April 24, 2008 #

  3. Hi Kevin, Yes Jekyll is a remarkably beautiful place and it is a state park! In 1947 the state of Georgia bought the island from the millionaires and made it into a state park with a mandate that the park be affordable and accessible for the average Georgian. The people of Georgia take this mandate seriously and feel a strong sense of pride that this island, once the playground of only the richest in the country is now owned by “the plain people of Georgia” as recorded in the Georgia Code. Here is the rub. The Jekyll Island Authority, appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue has begun a beachfront project on part of the 35% of the island which by law can be developed (the remaining 65% must stay undeveloped.) Well, the development proposal put forth by Linger Longer Communites (the wealthy Mercer Reynolds is the company owner and BIG campaign contributor to Perude, former finance chair to George W. Bush and now finance chair for Senator McCain) would have the public beachfront turned into a condo community complete with time shares and a 400 room luxury hotel. (They do plan to build a 125 “economy” hotel at the western most end of the project. Guess what? Linger Longer Communities does not have to buy that pristine oceanfront land. The leases to the Jekyll Island Authority will be paid for by those who buy the condos. Good deal for a developer. Imagine the profit margine…beachfront land you can develop for free! Good-by to affordablity and accessibility.

    Linger Longer Communities and the Jekyll Island Authority have touted this development to be environmentally friendly yet the JIA did not do environmental impact studies nor did they determine the legal implications of the Shore Protection Act, Marshland and Wetlandds Protection Acts BEFORE issuing an RFP to the developers AND they fought against legislation that would have protected the island’s natural assets and maintained accessibility for all to enjoy the beachfront, not just those who can afford the “beach village” proposal.

    People from all over Georgia, in fact all over the country have joined the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island (www.savejekyllisland.org) supporting responsible redevelopmeent of the island as opposed to the massive devellopment proposed by the Jekyll Island Authority which will encroach on the public’s accessibility to their state park beach, the environmental assets of the island (beach and maritime forest.) Please visit the website to get involved in this important effort.
    Kevin, You praised the natural beauty of the island. I hope those visiting this site will join in the effort so that natural beauty will be available to all visitors for generations to come.

    Thank you for the opportunity to share this information with others.

    Comment by Mickey — April 27, 2008 #

  4. I enjoyed your writing style and I’ve added you to my Reader. Keep these posts coming.

    Comment by SEO Boot Camp — July 10, 2008 #

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